The Oscar Chances Page

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Actor and now legit director Ben Affleck is directing and close to wrapping his third feature, Argo, for producers George Clooney and Grant Heslov, who also serve as screenwriters as well. The film tells the story of a CIA operation to save six ambassadors during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis by faking a production for a large-scale science fiction film.The cast consists of Affleck, John Goodman, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, Kyle Chandler, Clea Duvall, Michael Parks, Tate Donovan, Richard Kind, Rory Cochrane, Adriene Barbeau and Barry Livingston ( of My Three Sons fame )Oscar nominee Rodrigo Prieto ( Brokeback Mountain ) is handling the cinematography on the film. September 24 2012 is when the movie is set to be released.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Directed by Simon Curtis and starring Michelle Williams as the iconic bombshell, the films tells the story in the summer of 1956, Colin Clark works as an assistant on the British set of The Prince and the Showgirl, which stars Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe, who is also on honeymoon with her new husband, playwright Arthur Miller. When Miller leaves the country, Clark introduces Monroe to British life and they spend a week together, during which time she escapes from her Hollywood routine and the pressures of work.

The film will see a November 4th release date and also stars Kenneth Branagh as Laurence Olivier, Eddie Redmayne, Judi Dench, Emma Watson, Julie Ormond, Dougray Scott, Dominic Cooper and Derek Jacobi.

Many movie pundits are speculating this could land Williams an Oscar nomination. I reserve the right to go there at this time without even seeing the movie, but critics seem to like her a lot and I wouldn't be surprised if she did land a nod or two for her portrayal.

After a debate, Myers is approached by rival Campaign Manager Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti), who offers him a position in Senator Pullman's campaign. Myers refuses, and asserts that he believes in Morris' political views. Duffy tells Myers that his optimism won't last, and that Myers will eventually be cynical and corrupt like the other candidates.

Myers starts a sexual relationship with Molly Stearns (Evan Rachel Wood), an intern for Morris' campaign and daughter of Jack Stearns, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. One day, Myers discovers that Molly is trying to call Morris. She and Morris had an affair six months before, and Molly is pregnant with Morris' baby. Myers helps her raise money for an abortion and drives her to the clinic. While he waits, Morris and Zara call him, and reveal that his encounter with Duffy was leaked to the press and published by Ida Horowicz (Marisa Tomei), Myers' friend and a reporter for the New York Times.

Myers is fired for betraying their trust. He attempts, unsuccessfully, to win back his job by revealing that Duffy told him that Senator Pullman intended to guarantee his victory by offering Senator Thompson (Jeffrey Wright), whose endorsement will be vital to the eventual nominee, the position of Secretary of State.

Myers offers his services to Duffy, but Duffy doesn't want to hire Myers. He engineered the leak to lure Myers from Morris' campaign. Meanwhile, Molly learns that Myers has been fired and, fearing that he will use her secret to get revenge on Morris, commits suicide. Myers feels guilty about this, as he did intend to expose Morris' affair.

Myers later confronts Morris, and tells Morris that he will expose the affair if Morris doesn't restore his job and fire Zara. Morris relents, and Zara compliments Myers on using his own secrets to his advantage. Myers convinces Morris to offer a better position to Senator Thompson in his administration and secure Thompson's support, increasing his chances of securing the nomination.

Now Senior Campaign Manager, Myers attends a press conference organized by Ida. He suddenly realizes that Duffy was right, and he has betrayed everything he believed in for success and revenge. Disgusted with himself, Myers considers revealing the truth behind his return to Morris' campaign and exposing Morris' secrets.

The movie ends before Myers' decision is revealed. The film has received a good approval rating and will most likely earn some Oscar nominations.

Steven Spielberg directs this story based off Michael Murpuro's book and then popular stage play, that begins in Devon at the outbreak of World War I, Joey, young Albert Narracott's beloved horse, is sold to the cavalry and shipped to France. Joey serves in the British and German armies, and gets caught up in enemy fire; death, disease and fate take him on an extraordinary odyssey, serving on both sides before being alone in No Man's Land. But Albert cannot forget Joey, and, still not old enough to enlist in the army, he embarks on a dangerous mission to find and bring him back to Devon.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Here's couple of set photos of Al Pacino portraying uber music producer Phil Spector, who is doing a long stretch in jail for murdering B list actress Lana Clarkson.The great playwright David Mamet is directing the project, many who are familiar with such work for his impressive, snappy dialogue in such films as Wag The Dog, Hoffa and of course Glengarry Glen Ross ( a masterwork in screenwriting )The film also co-stars Helen Mirren as Spectors attorney, Jeffrey Tambor, James Tolkan and Matt Malloy.The movie is being produced by HBO films ( impressive project after impressive project with that channel ) and will see a air date sometime in 2012.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Roman Polanski's take and adaptation of the popular stage play God Of Carnage originally written by French playwright Yasmine Reza.

This adaptation stars Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Christoph Waltz and Kate Winslet.The 2010 Broadway play played 452 performances with a cast consisting of Marcia Gay Harden, James Gandolfini, Hope Davis and Jeff Daniels, and garnering several Tony nominations with Harden winning the Tony for Best Actress.The film which recently played the Toronto Film Festival, recieved better than average response from critics, with Foster getting most of the best in show accolades, some saying she should have a pretty good chance at a Oscar nod. Waltz also received good word in his role as well.

About Me

Started to really pay attention to film ( movies ) what was going on in front of the camera, but more interestingly, behind it as well at about as far back as age 10. Motion pictures ( when good ) are a fascinating medium. All the work and prep that goes into filmmaking. It's an amazing process !

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My goal is to bring information that isn't widely known or spoken about yet at the water cooler concerning movies. I try to be original and attempt at coming up with my own information before I may venture to see what everybody else is buzzing about on other movie sites. I'm not a hack who doesn't know what he's talking about. I truly believe there are people out there that don't need a film studies degree from University or film school to be knowledgable about film, as I have actually studied film as a hobby for over 30 years. I paid keen attention to detail, not even fully realizing I was at a young age. Not just what the movie is about or who is starring in it, but what really makes a movie work and that is the behind the scenes people; the director, screenwriting, the cinematography, the production design and editing. All of those have interested me since I was not even yet a teen. So that's what this site is about, just someone who has always loved film more years than I have been alive than not.